If you’ve been feeling as if you’re being pulled through a keyhole backwards, it’s quite possible that old devil, Saturn, has been moving by ‘transit‘ through the twelfth house of your birth chart, across your ascendant(the eastern horizon of your chart) and whoosh, bam…you’ve just come through the rebirth canal into first house of self.

Poor Saturn. Ancient and traditional astrologers assign unflattering descriptions of his impact on a chart such as restriction, lessons to be learned, tiresome practicality, excruciating patience and let’s not forget, the wet blanket in any situation…definitely not someone jovial Jupiter wants to sidle up to at a party.

Naturally because it’s astrology, there’s never one ‘simple’ consideration. How moving Saturn impacts a chart depends on several variables including transiting sign and mathematical relationships to a chart’s other ‘sensitive’ points besides the ascendant. However, through the evolutionary lens, when Saturn’s on the move through the final frontier of our twelfth house, across our ascendant into the first house, he’s the driving force pushing us toward our highest potential.

In December Saturn temporarily finished its two year tour through, as Steven Forrestcalls it, ‘the spooky sign of Scorpio,’ entering the expansive sign of Sagittarius. Scorpio’s nature among other things, brings our unconscious to the surface, forcing us to look at those things that have been safely buried in the watery depths– usually things we’d rather not face.

Saturn in Scorpio makes us do what we don’t want to do…urging us to clean out the closet. For those where this process is happening in their twelfth house, the landscape is vast. While traditionally, this sector or circumstance of life is that of the mystic, the house of hidden things, a monastic life, it’s also our unconscious, the dungeon, –and the house of endings. Quite simply: the old you is no longer the person your Soul has mapped for this lifetime.

But here’s the catch.–in order to move on, WE have to let go …relationships, perspectives, jobs, dreams…the list can be endless, making us feel as if we’re standing naked in the eye of the Universe. However, the Universe is also ‘elegant’ as Forrest tells us. Now that Saturn’s in Sagittarius, while perhaps it hasn’t finished moving through one’s twelfth house quite yet, if we’ve done our clean-out work, we’re afforded the benefit of fresh perspectives, even new dreams, if we CHOOSE to use this opportunity, as choice is always astrology’s intent.

What if we haven’t done such a great job of cleaning out? The Universe recognizes that sometimes we’re asleep and things slip by us. Not to worry…in June that ‘Old Devil’ Saturn turns retrograde, backing up into Scorpio for a brief last pass before it finally moves on for the next two years in Sagittarius. Have you swept out all the corners? Have you looked hard at those things you’d rather not? Have you let go?

For some time now there’s been a lot of energetic busyness and pressure for change going on in the heavens especially with the Grand Squaresinvolving four planets in December, April and now mid-June. Added to this, there have been and are, on-going ‘T-Squares’ involving three powerful planets. While these configurations might seem less intense, they’re actually no less powerful than the Grand Squares. The bottom line is that even if someone isn’t into astrology, EVERYONE is feeling it on multiple levels…emotionally, mentally and if we dare to watch the news, globally. So what does this all mean? Astrologically speaking, as the planets move around the heavens, they mathematically ‘square off’ and/or ‘oppose’ each other from time to time. When the faster moving bodies such as the Moon or Mercury are involved, the effect isn’t long term. But when it involves the slower moving planets, the effect is more significant in terms of our evolution which is what we’ve been dealing with lately.Generally speaking, squares in Evolutionary Astrology represent a fork in the road. They signal that change is in the wind because squares are pressure points of friction between the planetary energies involved and what they represent in our lives. If we’re awake to these events, we have an opportunity to take charge or at least proactively participate in the process. On the other hand, if we resist, the lesson becomes that much harder…as the saying goes, “the more you resist, the harder the fall.”In a ‘T-Square’, two planets in opposition (180◦ apart) both square a third planet at 90◦. And, even though there’s friction between these points and what they represent in our evolutionary process, all is not lost, because there’s a safety valve within the square.Always with astrology, there are varying interpretations. The exit point in a T-Square is no exception. While all the factors involved in the square,(planets, signs, houses) must be considered in building the story, in my practice, I prefer to use the apex point as the exit door or the ‘solution’ even though it’s part of the tension factor in the bigger picture.In the figure below, the apex is Pluto; the planet of transformation and one that’s often ruthless in the process (change or be changed is one of Pluto’s mantras!). It sits in structure oriented Capricorn and in this chart, it’s in the 2nd house of personal resources, self-esteem, earned income. Uranus in the 5th and Mars in the 11th are both squared to Pluto suggesting perhaps some sort of difficulty involving a rebellious child (or children) and relationship to the community or tribe that could put pressure on means of sustainability where resources are involved. It could also suggest someone who is prone to fleeting love affairs that push the moral boundaries of their tribe or community and thus affects material repercussions; it’s hard to tell without looking at the chart as a whole. Neither is necessarily negative; perhaps the community is too rigid for a child that has the ability to see the world in a way others can’t. Perhaps an individual isn’t suited to marriage and shouldn’t be in a community where affairs aren’t tolerated. At the end of the day, in this example, somehow change must be initiated. By understanding that when Pluto’s involved, self-initiation of internal changes trigger our external world and thus it benefits the entire ‘T-Square’ with a positive trickle-down result that can ease the tension.

Originally I’d planned that my small hiatus from blogging would go until the end of April! However, try as I might, I can’t ignore the importance of this eclipse. While New and Full Moonsalways signify beginnings and completions in some fashion, eclipses ‘power-boost’ these energies. The Scorpio Full Moon on April 25th illuminates energetic patterns and behaviors holding us back from growing in our evolution. As such, these elements need to go. There’s a building intensity globally, locally and personally, to dissolve that which is outmoded in spite of the fiercest of resistances as new energetic patterns and behaviors push hard for incorporation into our internal databanks, waiting to be actioned. With the full moon opposing the Sun inTaurus, we’re reminded to nurture a fundamental relationship to our physical world, its beauty and what we most value.

WhenDr. Edward Bachdiscovered the final 19 flower remedies to complete his famous 38 Bach remedies,AspenandWalnutwere among them. He identified this group as I’ve written previously, as possessing a ‘higher spirituality’ functioning at a higher vibration than those remedies already discovered.

Among the key characteristics ofAspenis that it allays our fears of going into unknown territory. So often we are seduced in the belief, “better the devil you know than the one you don’t.” However, as I’ve also written previously, the devil we know can take us right down the road of self-destruction, whether it be the result of a bad relationship, job or other life choices. Aspen provides us the courage and faith needed to venture into uncharted waters, whileBach’s remedy,Walnutis the remedy to help us make changes that we need to make.

Classically this remedy helps us to, in the words of the well-known authorDr. Leo Buscaglia,“ cut the toxic ties that bind.” It helps us to get our foot over the threshold, to let go of those things, patterns and behaviors that no longer serve us well. All of these considerations are a tall order, as our egos never want to ‘let go.’ This said, there’s a caveat in mind/body/spirit philosophy…“that which you resist the most, is that which you need to let go of.”Before you’re brought to your knees in resistance, reach for Dr. Bach’s Aspen and Walnut…it bears repeating, you’ll feel better in the morning!

For this posting, I’ve asked Simon Bentley, Principal of the White Eagle Lodge’s School of Astrology (based in England), to be a guest. He has kindly given permission to post his piece, ‘Life, the Transformer’, giving us a perspective on soul growth and how the sacred science of astrology can assist each of us on our journey. Many thanks, Simon!

I wonder if we have ever stopped to think what the word [transform] actually means? Literally, the prefix ‘trans’ means ‘across’, so that ‘transformation’ comes to mean ‘moving across to another form’, and so, changing form. If we aren’t careful, we use this word very glibly, but looked at from a spiritual perspective it is a word of crucial importance, since we are constantly attempting to transform ourselves, change into a form suited to our current position on the spiritual path.

Eventually, we shall all learn to transform continuously, but until we reach such a point of evolution it tends to happen in fits and starts and is not always welcomed…Astrologers recognize that Pluto, despite the fact that astronomers ‘demoted’ it in recent years, is the planet that symbolizes this factor in our growth, and when it’s particularly strong in a horoscope one can be sure that there are significant transformational processes going on in the life.

At this time, Pluto tends to be manifesting in terms of those occurrences and changes in life that seem completely fated, over which we appear to have no control. The ‘fits and starts’ mentioned above tend to bring to light some kind of major change, the closing of one chapter and the beginning of another, closely linked with Pluto’s action. However, bearing in mind that every life, every incarnation of every soul, is part of the grand transformational process that eventually brings us to divinity, the significance of the word ‘transformation’ means far more in astrology than simply a reference to what Pluto may do. The whole of life is in some way transformational, and so it could be said that astrology is a science that illuminates the transformational process we call ‘life’. Astrologers are often called upon for advice when there are crises in life, turning points – moments of transformation, if you will.

Astrology can help the soul to understand the process and therefore to be less apprehensive about it and to handle it more harmoniously. Most of life’s problems, as well as often being the inevitable outworking of karmic patterns, are brought about by our tendency to resist this process: astrology, by at least attempting to explain it, helps to remove our all too natural tendency to resist. This raises an interesting point, especially for astrologers themselves.

It has always been considered that the planet of our science is Uranus, and I would not dispute that astrology is a Uranian occupation, revealing, as it does, spiritual truth and the action of the divine will in human life. However, if astrology is also an assistant to transformation, surely it is also Plutonic? Personally I have often suspected as much, and what I have found is that while astrology is undoubtedly Uranian, Pluto is commonly very active in the horoscopes of those who become professional astrologers.

As professionals they are called upon to help others to cooperate actively with the transformational process in their lives. But there are also implications for the astrologers themselves, and the origin of their vocation. They too are undergoing transformations in their own personal lives, and what they see and experience through their clients is part of their process as well.

The use of the wonderful tool we call astrology is always, therefore, a two-way experience; if properly accomplished it’s that classic win-win situation which we all like to achieve! The client is better enabled to cope with his or her transformation; the astrologer is transformed to a degree simply by doing the job and thus learning from the client. So we could say that astrology itself can be – and hopefully is – used to hasten this process and thus speed up evolution, both individually and, through that, of the whole world.

Pluto always seems to get a bad rap and that’s before its status as a bonafide planet was brought into question. Over the years I’ve heard the following phrases to describe a Pluto transit through a chart: “the cosmic 2×4” or “the cosmic enema”…either way, the message reads “if you don’t clean it (whatever ‘it’ is) up, Pluto will do it for you; Pluto takes no prisoners.”On Friday, Pluto halted it’s retrograde motion that began back in April. Now stationing for a bit before it moves forward, Pluto’s energy will be intense and direct, making sure we get its message.

The energy of this planet is all about truth, power and transformation…urging us to dive down into the depths of the innermost ‘knowing’ of ourselves. It’s an opportunity to become students in learning the art of discernment, what is real? What is fantasy?Where have we been deluding ourselves? As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, when a planet shifts into retrogrademotion (‘appearing’ to move backwards in the sky), we’re encouraged to go inward, to evaluate how the particular planet’s energy is playing out in our chart and in our lives…where do we need to make adjustments? This message is particularly true of Pluto…learning the art of course correction for our greatest good, our destiny.

Currently, Pluto is in Capricorn, the sign that wants to be effective through practicality, self-sufficiency, stability. Whichever house Pluto is currently poised in your chart will give you clues about your particular task. Sixth house? Could be your daily work, health, skill set; ninth house? Might be education, your philosophy or your over-optimism that needs a reality check!

If we haven’t plugged in, Pluto will make sure we do. Unfortunately (or fortunately) this usually comes in the form of an outward, material manifestation that reflects the significance of blowing Pluto’s message off. While this is often tough going when we’re ‘in it’, down the road we can come to realize that the experience was a life saver.